One woman’s years-long struggle for recognition of the harm 'revenge porn' caused her

A woman who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, after a former partner shared a sex video on one of the world's largest pornography sites, is entitled to help from the Accident Compensation Corporation, a court has ruled.

Her claim was declined by the agency in 2020 because it did not recognise the online abuse, often referred to as "revenge porn", as a crime.

Advocates say the landmark decision, known as RV vs Accident Compensation Corporation, could open the door for other victims of image-based sexual abuse to also get ACC cover.

ACC said it was now reviewing the court's decision to "fully understand the implications and next steps".

The claimant, Hazel*, agreed to a former partner filming a sex video in 2019 but never agreed to it being shared online.

When she discovered some months later it had been shared on one of the world's largest pornography websites, she became anxious, depressed and was eventually diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

She sought help from ACC, but the agency rejected her claim in 2020 on the basis that imaged-based sexual abuse was not recognised in ACC or crimes legislation.

ACC only covers crimes listed in schedule 3 of the ACC Act, which is taken from the Crimes Act 1961. This list only covers mental injury arising from sexual abuse that occurs 'in person'.

"For me, it was such a hard time and I needed the support, I really, really needed the support of my therapist and counselor, and not being funded was really a blow to that. It was a really tricky time," Hazel said.

In November last year, Hazel challenged ACC's decision in court on the basis that her consent for the video to be taken was voided when her former partner posted it on the internet.

"We argued this was sexual violation, even though they had apparently consensual sexual relations, it was only on the condition that his filming of it was kept private. And that deception meant that she didn't really consent," Hazel's lawyer John Miller told RNZ.

This lack of consent meant the abuse was "within the description" of the crimes covered by ACC, Miller said.

The court agreed.

'It sets a precedent'

Hazel said she was "thrilled" with the outcome.

"I cried on the phone with joy when I received the news. It was really quite validating for me, as if everything I had gone through had finally been recognised."

Hazel said she still suffered every day from the effects of her abuse and she hoped the decision would help other survivors to get the help they needed.

"Maybe people aren't as fortunate as me to be able to support themselves through this process. So getting that recognised under schedule 3 is a major win going forward for people to get support."

Miller said the ruling could potentially open the door for others to make similar claims with ACC.

"In this particular case, the important point was that he deceived her after he gave express assurance the video would be private."

In other cases of revenge porn, it could be argued in court while express assurance that an image or video would remain private might not be given, it was implied, Miller said.

Victims advocate Ruth Money, who has been helping Hazel, encouraged other survivors making imaged-based sexual abuse claims with ACC to refer the agency to the court's "huge" decision.

"It sets a precedent for all of the people who have been sexually abused, that have included image-based sexual abuse. It should have always been covered and it's great that the court has recognised that."

Money acknowledged the "long, arduous and painful" journey Hazel had been through to get to this point.

"Every door that Hazel turned to for help was closed and her face. It was the police. It was ACC, it was such a long drawn out process for her.

"She finally won in a civil court but then the reparation was awarded but not paid. With ACC still not supporting her she had to fund her support herself. So this is a huge win after a very, very, very long time."

After winning a civil claim against the man who posted the video, Hazel was awarded reparation. Only some of that had come through, however, after she went to court again to have it enforced. The man was never charged by police because they said they could not prove he intended to cause her harm by posting the video.

She is not certain if all traces of the video have been removed from the internet.

The future of coverage for victims

ACC said it would be contacting Hazel to "confirm cover" and understand what support it could provide, following the court's decision.

In a statement, ACC deputy chief executive Amanda Malu said the agency frequently needed to consider consent issues in the context of claims for mental injury resulting from sexual abuse.

"We carefully look at this when assessing sensitive claims. In [Hazel's] case the judge ruled that the publication of the private recording vitiated (essentially impaired or voided) the client's consent to the sexual acts. The assurance that the videos would be kept private was a deception about the nature and quality of the sexual acts.

"We are reviewing the court's decision to fully understand the implications and next steps."

ACC could not provide RNZ with figures on how many claims relating to image-based sexual abuse it had received in the last year before deadline.

Hazel's win comes a year after MPs rejected calls for ACC to cover victims of image-based sexual abuse.

Money said it was time for politicians to have another look at the issue.

"Absolutely, it needs to be relooked at. Me, and a number of people submitted to that process… and we are the experts in the sector, we were the ones with the lived experience. Many brave survivors presented their experiences and I believe that their reasons to not proceed were purely financial. It was a financial copout."

In 2022, Netsafe received 515 reports of imaged-based sexual abuse under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

* Name has been changed.